PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION & BEHAVIORAL ADDENDUM: 26-C
CLASSIFICATION: RESTRICTED (Medical / HR Only)
DATE: March 10, 2026
SUBJECTS: Asset "Luca" (A-992-L) & Asset "Wulfsige" (A-993-W)
REPORTING OFFICERS: Dr. Elena Vance (Psychiatry) / Dr. Aris Thorne (Xenobiology)
During a routine CBT session, Asset Luca disclosed a persistent, localized anxiety centered around his neck. He described the sensation as feeling "exposed" or "unsecured" — a phantom weight that isn't there. He asked, with visible uncertainty, whether wearing some kind of collar might help.
Initial Assessment: This is a Residual Memory Echo from the canine half of the merge. The dog involved in the noclip event was a domesticated pet. To a domestic dog, a collar is not a restraint — it is a signal. It means: owned, safe, fed, loved. The absence of that familiar weight is triggering an abandonment anxiety at the subconscious level. Something Luca's conscious mind cannot fully articulate, but his body keeps reporting.
A provisional solution was introduced: a wide, soft-lined sleeping band — functionally a collar — to be worn within his quarters at night.
Results were immediate and significant. REM cycles stabilized within 24 hours. Resting heart rate dropped 12% when the band was applied. His own description of the effect:
"It just quiets the noise in the back of my head. I don't feel like I have to keep checking the door. When it's on, I know I'm home."
Therapeutic Concern: We want Luca to feel safe through his own agency, not through dependency on an external object. This is a long-term therapeutic goal. In the near term: the band works, and Luca's wellbeing matters more than our discomfort with the optics.
Wulfsige was consulted to determine whether this desire is a standard hybrid trait. He denied any instinctual need for a collar — which aligns with his biological origin. Kodiak was a sanctuary wolf, not a domestic animal. The associations that anchor Luca's anxiety simply are not in his architecture.
Despite this, Wulfsige requested a similar band for himself, unprompted:
"If he needs it, I'll wear one too. I don't want him feeling like the odd man out."
He has since stopped removing his during the day. Asked about it, he said the weight against his neck feels "grounding." He did not elaborate further. We did not push him to.
Theory A — The Domestic Imprint (Luca): The collar represents the emotional experience of being loved and belonging to someone. Its absence triggers abandonment at a biological level.
Theory B — The Pack Uniform (Wulfsige): If Luca wears a distinctive marker, that marker becomes the identifier of their specific pack. By wearing it, Wulfsige is stating: we are the same. We belong here together.
Theory C — Proprioceptive Comfort (Both): Both subjects have significant neck muscle mass and dense fur. A weighted band may be providing Deep Pressure Stimulation — the same mechanism as a weighted blanket — releasing dopamine and serotonin regardless of psychological association.
All three theories may be true simultaneously. They are not mutually exclusive.
We are pivoting from viewing these items as a crutch to viewing them as adaptive gear. The pivot is overdue.
Action Plan:
If a piece of tactical gear makes our most unique assets feel grounded, unified, and ready to work, we support it. Custom HBI fabrication begins immediately.
End of Report.